According to the US Census Bureau, 46.7 million Americans lived in poverty in 2014. Of these 46.7 million Americans, 21.1 percent were children under the age of 18. That's over 9 million American children living in poverty.
If those statistics are surprising to you, this isn't news. The rate of poverty in America has remained unchanged for four consecutive years. That means a child who was born into poverty in 2010, and is now approximately 6 years old, is most likely still living in poverty. There is also a chance they will have lower reading and writing skills as compared to children who grew up in a higher socioeconomic status (SES). These children may also suffer higher rates of physical or emotional abuse, mental health disorders, and substance abuse in the later years of their life. The chances of these children making it through college is minimal and they are almost guaranteed to spend their entire lives in poverty.
Did I mention this is happening in America?
The affects of poverty are astounding on children. From poor nutrition to low test scores and achievement leading into high school.
My question to my fellow Americans is why this is still happening to our children? Why are there over 9 million American children barley getting their basic necessities met?
Children are the future of our nation. By simply supplying high-quality early learning opportunities to all children living in this country, our nation would see dramatic changes.
Head Start
Head Start is a federally funded school-readiness program for low-income families. It offers early learning opportunities, health screening and family support. According to the Office of Administration for Children & Families, Head Start serves about 1 million children a year, but roughly 9 million children qualify for this program.
That's only 11.1 percent of low-income children.
Growing up in a low-income family, I was in Head Start before attending public school. Yes, it prepared me for school but not enough. I was still two years behind other children my age, even after attending this program for several years. My reading and math test scores were considerably behind my peers throughout middle school. I still continue to struggle with these issues in college.
Can we fix this?
Yes. It is never to late to change this. We can make America great again, but we have to change our early education system. We need to provide affordable and quality child care and preschool for all American children. Of the 16 million children living in America, 23.4 percent of them attend some type of childcare (according to the Center for American Progress).
What about the other 76.6 percent?
These families are using family-care. Meaning parents work opposite shifts, to split the duties of raising a child. They may be on a waiting list for some type of childcare, or they simply don't have care.
I am not a policy-writer, nor can I enforce policy makers to pass these laws. What you and I can do is spread the awareness for this issue. Educate yourselves. Make an educated vote for a candidate who is going to help fix this issue.
The bottom line
Families and children, especially those with low incomes, need support for early education to advance the future generations of our nation. How can we expect these people to care for us when we are old, when we can't even care for them when they are young?
